Conducting effective training is key in ensuring that you have a food safety program that is understood and followed. Training is an art, but it is also a science with defined principles for success. Designing training that works in your food company requires consideration of the following principles of adult learning.
Adults are Internally Motivated and Self-Directed
Adults do not like when ideas are forced upon them. They want to see the reason and value behind what you are asking them to do. So, don’t just tell them to do it because it’s company policy. Take the time to explain the rationale behind why it’s important to comply with whatever you’re asking them to do. Show them how they will benefit.
Adults Bring Their Prior Knowledge to the Learning Experience
Acknowledge that your employees come to the table with a lot of prior knowledge. Take the time to listen to them and encourage conversation and discussion. Your willingness to listen will be interpreted as respect. They will likely reciprocate this respect to you. Take advantage of what they share in the discussion by connecting prior knowledge with the new information that you are presenting. This will make new concepts more concrete and will help to integrate it into their long-term memory.
Adults Demand Respect
Remember that adults are not children and must be treated accordingly. See them as your colleagues regardless of your status above them. Never talk down to them. Avoid telling them that they are wrong. This may cause embarrassment and prevent them from sharing. Provide constructive feedback. Be patient and courteous if they do not understand the first time.
Adults are Goal-Oriented
Show your employees where you are going. What are your food safety goals? Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and share it with them. What’s their part in making these goals a reality? Show them how your goals ultimately tie in with not only the company’s goals but also the team and individual goals. Better yet, where possible, engage employees in helping to set the goals. In that way, you will have their full buy-in.
Adults are Practical
Use practical scenarios and hands-on experiences as often as possible to help reinforce the information that you are teaching. Most of what we are able to remember are the things that we do. However, make sure that employees not only understand the what and the how to do, but most importantly, why they are doing it. If you teach them the “why”, you empower them with the capacity to think their way out of new problems.
